Reporter, Zubair Kasori,ISLAMABAD – A major scandal has been exposed in Pakistan’s telecommunications sector, revealing not only financial irregularities by private companies but also the alleged collusion of high-ranking government officials.
On August 28, 2025, the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) canceled the Long Distance and International (LDI) license of Wateen Telecom Limited. This decision was made because the company failed to comply with a renewal order issued on July 21, 2025. Consequently, the PTA has directed all LDI, Cellular Mobile Operators (CMOs), Local Loop (LL), and Class Value Added Service (CVAS) licensees to immediately terminate all services provided to Wateen Telecom.
Two-Decade Dispute and Billions in Losses
This issue has been pending in courts for the past 20 years. During this time, Wateen Telecom and other involved companies received large sums for incoming international calls but allegedly laundered the money and kept it abroad through hawala/hundi instead of transferring it to Pakistan. This illegal activity caused a loss of billions of rupees to the national treasury.
Failure to Pay Government Charges and License Fees
According to the investigation, the companies involved failed to pay license fees and other mandatory telecom charges, including:
* Access Promotion Contribution (APC)
* Universal Service Fund (USF)
* Other mandatory telecom fees
The non-payment of these dues resulted in a loss of over PKR 100 billion to the national treasury.
List of Companies Involved
The companies implicated in this scandal include:
* Voice Telecom — its owner has reportedly fled the country.
* WorldCall Telecom
* Telenor — which has already defaulted on a mobile network.
* Circal Net Telecom
* Wateen Telecom (the central case)
Sources claim these companies allegedly colluded with PTA officials to delay the court cases to avoid paying their dues.
Controversial Role of Former Federal Secretary
The investigation also revealed that former Federal Secretary of Information Technology, Captain (R) Muhammad Mahmood, exceeded his authority by issuing a policy directive. This directive allowed LDI companies to pay only 50% of their dues, with the remaining 50% waived over 30 quarterly installments. This action was outside his legal jurisdiction.
Furthermore, a bribery transaction worth millions of rupees was allegedly exposed in this deal. The government took immediate action, removing Captain (R) Mahmood from his post and initiating an investigation into the matter.
Company’s Stance
A head of an LDI company stated on the matter: “Injustice has been done to us. We have been proposing a solution to the PTA for years, but they neither listened to us nor acted on it.”
Government Actions and Future Strategy
The PTA has made it clear that the licenses of other LDI operators who have not paid their dues will also be canceled. Meanwhile, NAB and other accountability institutions are conducting further investigations into the scandal, and more names of high-ranking officials and companies are expected to surface.
20-Year Telecom Scandal: PTA Cancels Licenses of Several Companies, Including Wateen; National Treasury Loses PKR 100 Billion
